Technical Field
The present invention relates to a dinosaur model with multi-joint assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dinosaur model with multi-joint assembly that allows the user to grow his or her creative idea and pursue self-lead learning during the assemblage of relatively many parts into the finished article and which is designed to allow free modification of actions and to provide a definite anatomical structure of dinosaur during the sequential assembly of a skeletal frame having a joint structure and an integumental frame composed of separate a head, a neck, a trunk, legs, and a tail.
Background Art
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, and were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates from the start of the Jurassic until the end of the Cretaceous. Also, the fossil record indicates the involvement of Pterosaurs and Ichthyosaur, which were flying reptiles, and large marine reptiles, respectively, as members of the clade Dinosauria.
The taxon Dinosauria, meaning ‘terrible reptile’, was formally coined by paleontologist Sir Richard Owen, who used it in August, 1841 in the Academic Research Development Meeting of England to express the great fossilized bones of Iguanodon found in 1825.
Collectively, dinosaurs as a clade are divided into two primary branches, Saurischia and Ornithischia, which are distinguished most noticeably by their pelvic structures, lizard- and bird-hipped joints, respectively. Saurischia includes the theropods, which are exclusively bipedal with a wide variety of carnivorous diets (e.g., tyrannosaurus, allosaurus, etc.), and sauropodomorphs, which are long-necked, quadrupedal herbivores (e.g., brachiosaurus, supersaurus, etc.). Ornithischia were primarily herbivores classified into four species including ornithopoda with long legs like birds, thyreophora with armor-like skins, ankylosauria with club-like tails, and ceratopsia with horns.
Such dinosaurian characteristics are very important factors by which dinosaurs can be distinguished from one another. Typically, students with an interest in dinosaurs learn the skill of distinguishing types of dinosaurs and widen their knowledge about dinosaurs through observation of fossilized bones.
Meanwhile, various models are fabricated and marketed for learning and studying skeletal structures of dinosaurs. Also, the models are prepared in the form of toys with the aim of arousing student interest, but conventional dinosaur models or toys have use limitations because they are provided as completely integrated forms.
Thus far, most dinosaurian models have been prepared as empty or latex-saturated figures that have rubber or plastic integuments or as wood or plastic puzzles, or limited to those composed of simple skeletal bones. Even though upgraded, those models are enabled only to do simple actions.
For example, Korean Patent Unexamined Application Publication No. 10-2003-0074580 (issued on 19 Sep. 2003) discloses a dinosaur toy having a skeletal frame composed of a spine, a tail, a head, forelegs and hind legs, a chest, a pelvis, and ribs. They are separate planar blocks, each having at least one concave fitting attachment, and can be assembled into or disassembled from the dinosaur model by fitting or detaching. Korean Utility No. 20-0434385 (issued 14 Dec. 2006) describes a dinosaur toy composed of blocks of main bones that can be assembled and move with the aid of motors and gears, thereby arousing an interest in dinosaurs and improving learning effects.
The conventional dinosaur models described above, however, have too small a number of assembly parts to allow the user to grow creative ideas and purse self-lead learning. In addition, the conventional models are limited in providing the user with accurate anatomical structures of dinosaurs because the parts have planar shapes and are designed to be simply fitted to each other for assembly.